Also, if you’ve had a stent or heart surgery, you should be on platelet blocking therapy,” advises Martin. “Taking a low-dose aspirin is most effective if you’ve already had a heart attack or stroke. Studies show that aspirin can help prevent heart attacks and strokes caused by blood clots because it reduces your blood’s ability to form clots. When the blocked artery leads to your brain, a stroke is the result. A heart attack occurs when blood flow to your heart is cut off. Even worse is when a blood clot forms on a ruptured plaque and blocks the artery entirely, cutting off the flow of oxygen to part of your body. When cholesterol and other substances build up on your artery walls, they create something called plaque, which narrows the passageways and restricts blood flow. Finding the one that works for you is a better route than taking a supplement to try to counteract ill effects of your current prescription. There are several different statin drugs and they can be given at various doses. “If you’re taking statin drugs and have muscle aches, the next step is talking to your doctor about changing your prescription.” “No solid evidence supports benefits of taking CoQ10 supplementation while taking statins,” Martin says. Proponents of CoQ10 say it helps reduce muscle pain, which can be a side effect of statin use, and is an important energy source that the body needs. CoQ10 SupplementsĬoenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), a nutrient produced by the body and used for cellular energy, is often touted as being vital if you’re taking statin drugs to lower cholesterol.
On the other hand, prescription statins are heavily regulated and have a proven track record of being safe and well tolerated by the vast majority of people. Citrinin has been found to cause kidney failure in animals and genetic damage in human cells. This develops during the culturing process if the environment isn’t carefully controlled. “I don’t feel comfortable recommending red yeast rice because each formulation may vary in strength and have other unknown contaminants that could be toxic,” says Martin.Īn analysis of red yeast rice supplements found that four out of 11 products contained a substance called citrinin. Statin drugs are commonly prescribed for reducing high levels of bad cholesterol.Īlthough some people want to take red yeast rice because they feel it’s more natural and safer than prescription statin drugs, it’s not regulated by the FDA or tested in any way to make sure it’s safe. When red rice is fermented with certain strains of yeast, it creates a very low-dose statin. Red yeast rice is used in foods such as Peking duck and in Chinese medicine.
Rather than taking a supplement, Martin notes that eating a heart-healthy diet that includes fish, unsaturated fats and limited simple sugars, and performing regular physical activity, is the safest way to control triglycerides and cholesterol. Over-the-counter supplements aren’t regulated for quality and contents, so you don’t know what you’re really getting. “Over-the-counter fish oil supplements may also contain large amounts of other unwanted saturated fats, which could increase your bad cholesterol.” That’s because the dose of active ingredients is substantially less than what’s in prescription fish oil and can even be less than advertised,” Martin says. “Typically, you wouldn’t get that kind of triglyceride lowering with over-the-counter supplements.
Omega-3 therapy with prescription fish oil can reduce triglycerides by 30 to 50 percent in those with levels that are at 500 mg/dL or more, and who are at an increased risk of getting pancreatitis. However, they’re prescribed to help people with severe triglyceride disorders, not high cholesterol. Prescription fish oils are used in medical practice. But there is no substantial evidence that proves over-the-counter fish oil supplements can do any of those things. “But many of those supplements don’t benefit the heart like people think.” Fish OilĪdvocates of fish oil supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids (nutrients found in foods such as fish that are important for normal metabolism) say they’re good for heart health and prevent heart attacks , strokes , heart failure and coronary heart disease . “Some people try supplements instead of prescription medications because they think it’s a safer way to address health issues,” he says.
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